Cat is licking the hair off his paw

[gosssamer]

Hi, I happened to notice this morning that Xavier is licking his paw incessantly to the point where he's licked the hair off of it. It doesn't look infected, and it doesn't appear to be sensitive to the touch, or otherwise really bother him, but what could be going on?

 

[gosssamer]

I should add that Xavier is an indoor cat and I've checked for fleas or other parasites. I've read a few blog posts on this already, and know it could be any number of possible causes. Where do I start? Perhaps with a spray or some lemon juice or something to prevent licking the spot itself?

Perhaps wrap a bandage of some sort over it, see if he has a problem with it, or starts to lick another spot instead?

I don't think anxiety could be the cause, but perhaps stress. He did escape out an open door probably more than a year ago now, and it's safe to say he's been having a hard time with recovery, but it was more than a year ago and nothing tramautic has happened since.

We have three other cats in the house. Although he doesn't fight with any of them, they all just kind of tolerate each other. He likes to play with the older cat, but she doesn't know Xavier is only playing and runs from him.

 

[Tobermory]

As you say, there could be many reasons. It could be caused by allergies—food or seasonal…or even contact with something. It could be caused by pain. Iris has started to lick her front legs constantly, and in her case, it’s probably arthritis pain for which she gets pain meds.* But maybe Xavier hurt it somehow and the licking soothes it. Or perhaps, if he’s not buddies with your other cats, he might be bored or stressed.

I know you want to treat the result and make him stop, but it would be best to find out what’s causing the problem. Perhaps a visit to the vet?

* I don’t know how old Xavier is, but in Iris’s case, she has developed some compulsive behaviors that are probably related to her age (almost 19). A little kitty dementia, if you will. My vets says he’s seen it before with elderly animals.

 

[OopsyDaisy]

My guess is that he might have some pain. My late Kokanee had a tumor on her leg and she would chew because of the pain, and the nerves bothering her. I'm not saying that Xavier has a tumor but it could be nerve damage or pain. Something is defintely bothering him. If he licks or chews on it too much he could develop an abscess.

 

[gosssamer]

Xavier's about 8yo now. I haven't seen any signs of him having difficulty walking or any other symptoms that might lead me to believe there's some kind of physical pain.

He also had hip surgery a few years ago that I forgot to mention previously, and although he hasn't had any physical pain from it, it was another source of significant stress - more so than almost any other cat I've ever had, but this was more than two years ago. He's definitely apprehensive as a result, but this has been a consistent source for him over the past 24+ months. Taking him to the vet would be extremely difficult for him.

Again, any specific recommendations for us to try to start would be appreciated.

 

[ladytimedramon]

Is it the foot portion of the paw? When one of my girls was doing that, I changed the litter. It took me 3 or 4 different types before we settled on crystal litter (tried clay in different brands, wood pellets, and corn). Since we changed to the crystal litter, she only occasionally chews when she's cleaning herself, but she's not constantly chewing.

 

[NekoM]

Have you thoroughly checked his stomach and abdomen for anything similar?

 

[r-kins]

Has he been checked by a vet? I've seen this happen to cats for the following reasons:

• Food Allergies (Friend's cat was allergic to mites found in a dry food, also another cat was simply having a reaction to the type of protein [chicken, I think])
• Other Allergies (The type of litter, especially if scented.)
• Stomach issues (Licked the stomach itself bare, and was an indicator of intestinal discomfort. Could his leg be hurting?)
• Anxiety/depression (When the other older cats died, our cat licked his stomach and legs bare because he was distraught. When it finally started growing back, we couldn't even let them shave him for an IV or he'd start licking all the fur off again.)

 

[gosssamer]

Turns out it is a bacteria in his ear that is now being treated with an antibiotic and ear drops. It totally presented as ear mites. We gave him gabapentin to calm him down prior to the trip. He's now back and resting comfortably.

The doctor thinks there was possibly an open wound on his paw that became infected by scratching his ear, but we don't know for sure. I don't know why he would have had an open wound, nor how that area of his paw would be used to scratch his ear - there really wasn't much scratching, only attempts at cleaning.

 

[OopsyDaisy]

It actually makes a lot of sense. That's the part of their paw (from what I can see in your picture) that they wrap around the ear when they clean themselves. Who knows about the wound though, anything could have happened. It may have just started as a little scrath. I hope it clears up now and he feels better soon. Thanks for the update.

 

[NekoM]

Feeling a bit less stressed now I bet